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K-M

K

kilning

Drying wood under controlled temperature and humidity.

L

latex

A thick white or whitish liquid produced by certain plants. For example, Antiaris toxicaria and Bridelia micrantha both have a latex sap. A more popular example is the rubber tree (Hevea braziliensis). Some types of latex can be harmful, especially if the latex gets into the eyes.

litter

Uppermost layer, on the soil surface, of loose organic debris (for example, as in forests), consisting of freshly fallen or slightly decomposed organic materials.

live fence

A way of establishing a boundary by planting a line of trees and/or shrubs (the latter usually from large stem cuttings or stumps), at relatively close spacing and by fixing wires to them. If animals are to be kept in or out, more uprights (dead sticks) can be tied to the wires. Also called a 'living fence'.

lopping

1.     Cutting one or more branches of a standing tree, for example, for fuel or fodder.

2.     A technique used to collect fodder for animals by cutting side branches, not the main stem. Animals can be allowed to eat the lopped branches of the tree, or they can be carried to the animals as in a zero-grazing system.

lumber

Sawn timber. A unit of measure is the 'board foot', that is, a board 12 inches long by 12 inches wide by 1 inch thick.

M

mangroves

1.     Open or closed stands of trees and bushes occurring in the tropics in inter-tidal zones, usually around the mouths of rivers, creeks and lagoons where soils are heavy textured and have a fluctuating salt content and soil level.

2.     A name used collectively for the assemblage of plants, as well as to refer to individual genera or species, for example, woody members of the Rhizophoraceae, Combretaceae and Verbenaceae. These have knee-like roots that are 'pneumatophores' (roots with air spaces). Grown for wood and tannins.

miombo

A form of woodland found in southern Africa in hot, semi-arid regions with a monomodal rainfall (for example, in Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia). Rainfall is high (> 1000 mm) and soils are poor in nutrients and acid. The vegetation is dominated by slow-growing, mainly deciduous, caesalpiniaceous trees (for example, Brachystegia, Julbernardia).

mixed garden

A land-use form on private lands outside the village, dominated by planted perennial crops, mostly trees, under which annual (seasonal) crops are cultivated. When spices are grown they are called 'spice gardens'.

mixed stand

A stand in which less than 80% of the trees in the main canopy are of a single species.

multiple-use forestry

Any practice of forestry that fulfils two or more objectives of management, whether products, services or other benefits. Also called 'multipurpose forestry'.

multipurpose tree

A woody perennial that is purposefully grown to provide more than one significant contribution to the production or service functions (for example, shelter, shade, land sustainability) of the land-use system that it occupies. Also called 'agroforestry tree'.

multistorey cropping

Multispecies crop combinations involving both annuals and perennials with an existing stand of perennials. An association of tall perennials with shorter statured crop species.

multistorey system

An agroforestry system, such as a homegarden, that has a number of plant components of differing stature so that several layers of canopy are formed.

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